Shetland march and rally

Whatever your own reason for opposing the Viking Energy windfarm, this could be your last chance to make your voice heard before the Scottish Energy Minister makes his decision on whether or not he gives the scheme planning permission, or orders a Local Public Inquiry

People in Shetland are not opposed to suitably sited and environmentally sensible windfarms, but the Viking Energy plans are none of these things.

Saturday 19 February. 11:30. Market Cross. Lerwick

Route: Market Cross – Commercial Street – Harbour Street – Town Hall

Rally in the Town Hall with tea, coffee, bannocks and homebakes, as well
as information tables, chat, open mic, pictures and the chance to join Sustainable Shetland if you aren't already a member.

The Town Hall is open from 11am, so if you can't physically manage the walk, you can wait and join us there.

What's it all about?

Viking Energy Partnership want to build one of Europe's largest windfarms
in the Shetland Islands. Shetland has no national grid connection. Their project for 127 turbines, each up to
145m tall, will have a detrimental impact on bird life, affect thousands
of acres of fragile habitat, permanently change a historic landscape,
damage quality of life for people living in and near the windfarm,
and endanger community funds.

We believe the overwhelming majority of people in Shetland oppose this scheme. Supporters are very much in a minority. Initial figures from the planning authority, the Scottish Government Energy Consents Unit, demonstrate this.

Individuals and organisations formally objecting: 2736

Individuals and organisations expressing support: 1114

71% of responses opposed the development, 85% of all responses came from Shetland

What can I do to help?

Come along with family, friends and neighbours on Saturday to show your care for our environment.

Never been to a protest march before? Neither have most of our committee. This will be a peaceful and fun day which will help make a serious point.

Make your own sign - heavy cardboard from boxes works well.

Offer someone without transport a lift into the town.

Need a lift - with over 770 members, there's a good chance we have a member
near you! Email or phone us.

Contact us to help distribute posters or flyers in your own area.

Bring a plate of homebakes or bannocks to share!

Musical? Drums and whistles add to the atmosphere. Get together with friends and see what you can come up with!

Take video clips and pictures on the day and upload them to YouTube, Facebook
and the like - or give us a copy and we'll do it for you. The more people
know about what's being proposed here, the more chance we have of stopping
Viking Energy.

Don't leave it to someone else to make your voice heard - do it for yourself, and join with the rest of Shetland in saying no to Viking Energy.

Spread the word

Download and print your own A4 poster to publicise the march. high quality version 1.2MB.

Lower resolution version for slow broadband (851kb).

A3 poster 1.86MB

Small flyers to print and share. A6 flyers with march information for you to give out. 4 flyers per sheet.

We believe that the Viking Energy proposals are everything we do not need
in Shetland: they are financially risky and potentially damaging to the Shetland environment.

We want to see sustainable renewable energy projects in Shetland which
are fit for scale and fit for purpose, and provide real community benefit.

We are not an "anti-wind farm" campaign. Wind power has it uses, correctly sited for the right reasons.
Viking Energy fails on both these counts. Other projects will be considered
on their own merits.

Can't make it on the day?

Send us your name and location, and we'll add you to our "wish we were here" display in Lerwick Town Hall. Email us support@sustainableshetland.org or tel. 01595 741471

We are working on updating this web site to reflect new information in
Viking Energy's planning "addendum", so at the moment some information may refer to the initial wind farm
planning application and not the addendum. We appreciate your patience
as we work on updates to this site.